Off to the SOBE Wine and Food festival

A close friend of mine, Julie Mautner, who lives part of the year in France and has a really nice blog called The Provence Post, has just finished writing a cookbook based on the SOBE (South Beach) Wine and Food Festival . The book will be published by Clarkson Potter, just in time for the festival’s 10th anniversary in February, 2011.  Meanwhile I am going to be joining her for this year’s festival from February 25-28th and rubbing elbows with Culinary Royalty.  I will be attending a bunch of the events and of course be on the beach in the Grand Tasting Tent.  If I am really lucky I will get to see Padma in a bikini telling me she will “turn my culinary dreams into reality.”

A shot of Padma from her website

I attended a day of this event six years ago.  It was not a huge event back then, but apparently has really grown.  I remember the tasting tent being packed with people and after a while it was too much to bear.  After leaving the tent I ran into Anthony Bourdain and chatted with him for awhile.  It was quite strange.  The epicenter of the event takes place right on the beach and at different venues around SOBE.

This year they will be paying tribute to the great Daniel Boulud.  It will be nice hanging out in SOBE again with my close friend from High School who lives right on the beach.  This should be a great networking opportunity.  I will post about the whole event and my time in Miami.  Always crazy stuff happens when I go there.